Trump's whole agenda is provocation, which isn't to say he doesn't believe what he's saying. But he's also so over the top, so almost unbelievably bold, that he's become something of a parody of himself. And it feels as if he's fully in on the joke, which he may be. We could use a little provocation.

When it comes to other important issues facing America, Trump speaks as a man who is never in doubt, although he is frequently wrong. For instance, he has claimed he has a plan to defeat the terrorist group ISIS, which now controls oil fields in Iraq.

If we wish to get serious about helping the poor underclass instead of just policing it, then we must be honest about what is causing it. We must be willing to face our own imperfections as a society. It's time. And we can handle it.

Having a college degree, once thought of as a necessity for most upper-level careers, including holding the most powerful office in the world, might suddenly seem like a cross to bear as Scott Walker attempts to demonstrate how that little document has screwed up our country for over two decades.

Midterm elections are not intended to neuter a president. They are midcourse corrections intended to make government work better for the people who elect their representatives; to -- in fact -- transform the government we have into the government the people wish they have.

The mid-term election is still days away, but it sure isn't looking good fro President Barack Obama and Democrats. With his job approval rating down precipitously since his strong 2012 re-election performance, Democrats are on the ropes and on the run.

What can we learn from the mess of the 2012 election? Could someone who isn't Nate Silver use past polling errors to make predictions for this next election? It's time to start looking at the old polling data to see what might have gone wrong.

Let's not talk about Hillary Clinton specifically -- let's examine, instead, the role of the run-of-the-mill criminal lawyer who chooses to, or is appointed to, represent an extremely unpopular defendant, or a defendant counsel believes is truly guilty.

Until we develop a culturally-relevant and widely accepted concept of what constitutes poor corporate practice in a specific country or region, we cannot develop mechanisms that effectively promote good governance and stamp out corruption in that location.

Without a catalyst of a large state adopting early voting, I expect the early voting rate will again rise modestly in 2016. The trend should continue upward since once a state adopts early voting, the percentage of voters voting early tends to increase from election to election.

There is no doubt that the opportunity to re-elect America's first black president contributed to record black turnout last year. But, no matter who is on the ballot in 2014 and 2016, we must continue to exercise our voice. We must continue to exercise our vote.

Why aren't all Keystone XL opponents loudly demanding that President Obama stop construction of the pipeline's 485-mile southern leg that is destroying the lives of our fellow Americans in Texas and Oklahoma?